Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi as Plant Biostimulants for Sustainable Agriculture

Global agriculture production systems are confronted with difficulties due to increased food demand, rising hunger and malnutrition, negative climate change effects, and overuse of natural resources. According to the FAO's definition of sustainable food and agriculture, agricultural strategies should support technologies that increase output without having a negative impact on biodiversity or natural resources, while also boosting productivity. A plant’s biostimulants are natural products which stimulate a plant’s nutrition and productivity through enhancing nutrient use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress and quality traits. The present book studies arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), a plant biostimulant which forms symbiotic relations with plants, having a significant impact on performance and nutrition, particularly regarding plant mineral intake capacity. AMF, through several mechanisms in plants, can boost immunity against biotic and abiotic stresses. Exploitation of AMF to improve crop productivity will be the key for future sustainable agriculture.